Coming off a weekend where it was outscored 31-5 by a strong Fordham team, the Massachusetts softball team needed something to smile about.
Luckily, Caroline Raymond had something up her sleeve Tuesday to turn those frowns into smiles. By Tuesday’s end, it was Rhode Island in need of a pick-me-up.
The UMass pitcher tossed her first career no-hitter in a 14-0 win in the first game of a double-header against Rhode Island. The game was ended after five innings.
Head coach Kristi Stefanoni could not have been more proud of her starting pitcher.
“Caroline was absolutely fantastic out there and I could not be more proud of her,” Stefanoni said. “This was a whole different Caroline than I have ever seen. I think I am most proud of her demeanor and approach today. She was determined to get people out.”
This was Raymond’s first career no-hitter. In the game, she had to throw only 45 pitches and faced only one batter over the minimum, walking one and striking out two.
It didn’t take the Minutewomen (10-19, 5-9 Atlantic 10) long at all to strike. On only the second pitch of the game, shortstop Quianna Diaz-Patterson put a double in the left-center gap. From that point on, the game was on.
Offensively, UMass had one of its best outings of the year with four hitters having multi-hit games, and four Minutewomen hitting home runs in the first game of the day.
Diaz-Patterson continued on her standout senior campaign going 3-for-3 in the game as the Amherst native came into the day batting .481.
“We didn’t really have too much of a game plan out there. It was more just get in there and get comfortable,” Stefanoni said. “(Diaz-Patterson) really set the tone early and it just flowed from there. They all just synced together and got it done.”
Stefanoni admits that URI’s record ((1-29, 0-13 A-10) did affect the way the team approached the game.
“I would be lying if I said it didn’t affect our preparation. Taking on Rhode Island is a lot different than say a game against Fordham,” she said. “That being said, we never want to look past a team and Rhode Island was very scrappy and they gave us a good game in the second game.”
Six different Minutewomen had RBIs, with first baseman Bridget Lemire leading the charge with four and right fielder Taylor Carbone adding three of her own.
UMass takes second game of double-header
While the second game may not have been as convincing as the first game for the Minutewomen, the end result was just the same.
Raymond pitched another gem of a game, only giving up four hits in a 7-3 UMass win. URI led 1-0 after three innings, but the Minutewomen answered with five straight runs.
Offensively, UMass was led by Anna Kelley and Tara Klee, who both had two hits and a home run. Carbone had a home run of her own as well.
Despite all of the success the team had Tuesday, Stefanoni said there is still one major thing that must improve for her team – defense. The Minutewomen committed five errors, a familiar occurrence for the club.
“Plain and simple, it has to be better,” Stefanoni said. “I am probably the biggest stickler for defense on this team and what I am seeing right now is not cutting it. You can’t make those mistakes and expect to qualify for the tournament.”
The Rams come out of the double-header now on a 17-game losing streak. The team has lowly batting average of .220 and a team ERA of over 10 runs a game.
Adam Aucoin can be reached at [email protected].
